Heel base and process of making same



March 10, 1925 1,528,912 0. T. CRAFTS HEEL BASE ANDPROCESS OF MAKING SAME Filed Oct. 18, 1921 r7: 7 I Z 4 t 710670607 08;; T Uz/ZZ y atty and shoe structure.

Patented Man 10, 1925.

PATENT OFFICE.

OTIS T. CRAFTS, 0F MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 1mm. Basis: AND rnocn'ss or MAKING sans.

Application filed October is, 1921. Serial No. 508,538.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTIS T. Gimme, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Manchester, in the county of Hillsborough and-State of, New Hampshire, have invented an Im rovement in Heel Bases and Processes of aking Same, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters .on'the drawings representin like parts.

y present invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes, and more particlarly to the production of anovel and improved heel base, especially adapted with one surface formed with a rim-like rand and a concave contour suitable for. attachment to a convex heel seat, and with the opposite surfaces flat-and prepared for attachment to a rubber heel, and includes a novel tprocess of making such a heel base.

In e manufacture of boots and shoes, the heel seat of the shoe is formed concavoconvex at the heelto fit the corresponding contour of the human foot. In completing the shoe and in buildin the heel and applythe same, a rand is app ied to finish the heel Heretofore the building of such heel rands has consisted in the use of one or more triangularly beveled strips of leather which have been bent into shape, i. e., following the contour of the circumference of the heel, and nailed, glued, or otherwise secured, either to the eel or to the shoe-usua lly to, the heel. The making of such heel rands has necessitated the forming of the same, by prior methods, from sufliciently heavy leather or stock to permit of the .bevellin or splitting in order to provide a heel ran of suitable thickness to fit in around the periphery of the heel seat. Sometimes a plurality ofsuch wedge shaped members were fitted together and curved or sprung into shape.

The making of such heel rands and a portion of the heel was also customary in the manufacture of footwear to receive rubber heels, the rubber heels being molded with top and bottom faces substantially parallel. In the manufacture. of either a heel seat base for rubber heel attachment, or a leather, leather-board or solid'heel, the use of these prior'rands has been objectionable forman reasons. The relatively thick stock required: the splitting operation, the conforming and springing of the heel mud or rands into My present invention applies to the making of heel bases for the attachment of rubher heels, and furthermore enables this Whole heel base and rand construction to be made at less expense than heretofore, resulting in an improved rand construction, eliminating all danger of the rand ends springing out of shape, while also possessing tie very important advantages of enabling a rand of anV thickness to be made of extremely thin and inexpensive stock.

In carrying out my invention I apply a plurality of layers together whether of Whole or pieced lifts, sufficient to form a blank of the complete thickness of complete thickness required for both rand and heel base, equivalent to the whole thickness in former constructions involving the heel blank or lift and attached rand gluing or otherwise securing the same together, and then ap ly a cutting action to form both the ran -like rim and the concave surface desired. This is readil accomplished by applying the rand blan or heel seat base to a ouging machine, WhlOh operation Wlll cut tfie desired concave contour through the lurality of heel lifts in a smooth, even, finished manner, giving as thin a heel breast edge as desired, leaving the whole thlckness of the entire series or layers of members comprising the heelseat, at the edge, and thus forming a randed heel base at a single aeration. Furthermore, the bevel randli 0 members thus formed by my process, are in a natural contour and s ape, and never tend to spring outwardly or become distorted. The concave surface presented is free from corrugations, ridges or other uneven interruptions, thus eliminating one of; the objectionable features when a rand is bent'into semicircular shape, as in prior practice, necessaril wrinkling the inner ed A perfect tting between the heel ans heel seat of the shoe is also thus assured by my invention, and the prior customary operation of trimming the rands, etc., is eliminated.

By my invention, a completed heel base is made which will afford a firm, solid and perfect heel seat for the heel of a shoe.

Furthermore, the manufacture of my improved heel bases enables the same to be used either with or without a subsequent compressing. I can, if desired, compress the plurality of layers in any ordinary press, solidifying the same, and firmly uniting the layers and then effect the cutting operation, which completes the heel seat. The resulting article thus made is thus suitable for use at once, although it is feasible if desired to subject the now completed heel base to a further compressing action if the same is desired, but this is not necessary.

My invention of a randed heel base made by cutting the same out of a blank, as distinguished from the prior operations of bevelling and then bending or forming, is, I believe, a distinct novelty in this art, and I wish to claim the same broadly. Furthermore, the important feature of making a heel rand of substantial thickness out of a pluralit of flat, thin unbeveled layers, is also a distinct novelty, and is claimed broadly herein. My process of thus making a heel base, comprising the steps of uniting a plurality of fiat la ers, compressing the same if desired, and t en formmg the rand and concaved heel by a single cutting action while all the'lifts in the heel base are flat, is also, I am advised, a novel process, and the article of manufacture resulting is new, and claimed broadly herein.

Referring to the drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention,

Fig. 1 illustrates a shoe having a rubber heel with my novel heel seat or base;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the heel base, built up-with a plurality of relatively thin layers;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 4 is a rear view of the heel base;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a view in cross-section, similar to the showing in Fig. 3, but after the completed',blank has been subjected to additional compression.

As shown in the drawings, my invention contemplates the use of any style, shape, form or size of mens, womens or childrens shoes, a typical low shoe being illustrated at 1. The heel portion of this shoe, as is well known, is cup-shaped or sli htly concaved,to correspondj somewhat with the contour of the heel portion of the human foot'- as already explained-and my novel rand and heel base construction is illustrated as applied to this shoe consisting in a plurality of layers, 2, 3 and 4:, although any number of layers can be employed. This heel seat or base is made by applying a plurality of layers together while flat, which layers may be stamped or died out of any scrap or waste leather. A suitable adhesive being interposed between the layers, the layers may then be subjected to ordinary compression in a simple press, independently of molds or other conforming pressure, and with the layers thus firmly united in a laminated heel blank, the heel is then subjected to the cutting action, which scoops or cuts out the central portion in an exact cup formation or concavo-convex contour, to fit the shoe desired. As herein illustrated the curved line 5 to 6, shown in dotted lines Fig. 4, and full lines Figs. 3, 4 and (5, cuts the blank at a single operation, forming the desired bevel on the heel rands or sections constituting the outer beveled portions at the rear and sides of the heel, and completing the blank. The cutting or bevelling can be so effected as to produce substantially a knife edge at the extreme forward end or heel breast of the shoewhich has heretofore been an impossible but desirable feature of heel building. Furthermore, this action cuts the layers of leather while they are restin in their natural position, and therefore t ere is no tendency whatever for the rand ends or edges to spring apart, and hence no necessity of adding nails, staples or other devices to hold these edges of the rand. Only the ordinary heel attaching nails need be applied. The cutting is usually performed so that the inner concave surface of the heel base is sufficiently smooth and serviceable for instant application to the shoe, either being applied to the shoe and then the rubber top 10 fitted, or being applied to a heel base and then the entire heel nailed to the shoe. I may, however, still further comress the thus completed heel base,-by subj ecting the same to proper molds, as illustrated in Fig. 6. In this further form the heel breast edge 12 would be further compressed and if desired a greater pressure can be applied to this part of the heel seat base to increase the thlnness of the longitudinal line of bevel from near the outer end of the heel toward the heel breast. I have also illustrated this lon itudinally beveled form in Figs. 3 and 5, w ich performs the important feature of insuring the building up of a suflicient mass of material under the extreme rear part of the heel to surely give a firm tread to the heel end of the heel. Furthermore, this enables the remaining layers of the heel base to be ap lied horizontally and carry a straight tread from the heel seat to the ground. This feature is important when it is realized that so many heels are applied so that the heel will rest out of contact with the ground excepting at one or more portions, frequently resting only on the heel breast, or on one side, or on the center, etc. My invention insures uniformity in the completed shoe as well, also, as uniformity in the heel seat rand and heel bases made by my invention.

A most important practical advantage of my invention consists in the fact that the cutting action can be erformed in exact contour with that of t e heel seat of the style of shoe to which the heel is to be applied. This feature is also of importance in providing a firm, solid, com lete tread from the concave heel seat 0 the shoe through the heel to the fiat parallel toplift tread of the heel. Thus the prior practice of building up a heel rand of approximate dimensions; to fill in the edge contour between the concave heel seat and the parallel lifts in the heel, is eliminated, and my improvement in this step. in the art of shoe manufacture, is reduced to a certainty.

M invention is further described and define in the form of claimsas follows:

1. The process of making a heel base independently of a separate rand attaching operation, and free of tacks, nails or metallic fastenings, which consists in first making a blank of a plurality of layers, then simultaneously forming a rand-like rim around the heel base and concaving the central and breast portion of said base by a single cutting action, whereby a concavity of both rim and central portions corresponding to the convexity of the heel seat to which the base is to be applied, is produced.

.2. The process of making a heel base independently of a rand for use in the manufacture of boots and shoes, which consists in first providing a heel base blank, composed of a plurality of layers, then simultaneously forming a rand-like rim around the heel base and concaving the central and breast portion of said base by cutting through one or more of said layers to form a rand-like rim portion and a concaved surface inclined longitudinally toward the heel breast.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

OTIS T. CRAFTS. 

